Today, Emi is 6 months old and I'm one week recovered from a postpartum hernia repair. The home stretch of my pregnancy with her was tough. She was only 7lbs 5oz when she was born, but my body thought it was going to burst 6 weeks prior. I was stretched to the max.
With Aria, I had went home with a diastasis recti (a separation of the abdominal tissue that is completely normal for pregnant women) of about an inch and a half. With Emerson it was a little more, about two inches. But what I didn't know was that beyond the normal stretching that tightens back up over time, I actually had a small un-ruptured tear, a hernia.
I returned to working out about 6 weeks postpartum, avoiding abdominal exercises until 16 weeks postpartum. I went easy for quite awhile, until I built my strength back up. The beginning of September I came home from a workout and had what looked like a green grape under my skin above my belly button. Sensitive to the touch, I knew immediately what it was. Upon calling my Ob's office they referred me to a specialists for further evaluation.
I did notice within a few days the hernia protrusion lessened and in it's place was an indentation where it had pushed through. I didn't want to aggravate it again so I discontinued my training.
Three weeks later, I met with the specialist who gave me a few options. I could let it be, since it was relatively small, and it may heal up over time, but could take two to three years. But on the flipside, it could worsen, depending on my activity. Or we could go a surgical route with a non-mesh laparoscopic repair.
I didn't love the idea of surgery, but I didn't want to have to worry about my training and possibly having to deal with this in the future, so I opted for a repair.
Two more weeks later, I was in and out of Day Surgery in 4 hours. Heavy sedation and local anethetic took care of the pain, I don't recall anything except wheeling me in to the surgical sweet and waking up in the recovery room. Mild to moderate swelling dissipated after 4-5 days, I'm still sore to the touch, but can move around pretty well.
As for as caring for my girls, I was unable to nurse for 24 hours. I pumped & dumped, which prevented any of the sedatives from affecting Emerson. I took 800mg Ibuprofen for several days, and currently only taking a dose in the evenings when I become more sore. I also have a weight restriction of 10lbs for 3-4 weeks. Since Emerson's chunky self weighs in at 18lbs as of now, Seth has been home helping me, working from home and playing mom while I recover. I love him so.
Really, I've just been sitting on the couch & floor all week, just kicking it with the girls.. snuggles all around.
Prior to surgery I could not find much in the way of other's experiences with this. So I hope this is helpful for anyone facing something similar. Feel free to send any questions my way!
I'll come back to this and post updated pics as I recover.
xoxo, McKenzie
